Victory (side view)

1532-34
Marble, height 261 cm
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Like the Slaves, Victory represents the incarnation of virtue, which defeats vice, thereby liberating the soul from the fetters of the body. Michelangelo breaks definitely with the tradition of composing the figure with one view alone in mind. If the Julius tomb was planned as free standing in his first drawing, then Michelangelo's Victory can be observed from all sides and offers a variety of views, none of which are in any way inferior to the others.